Mississippi Department of Archives and History

Collections Blog

We will be exploring Mississippi’s rich aviation history in this series. From early flight photographs to the moon landing and beyond, MDAH collections document this exciting part of our past.

Today in 1935, two men from Meridian set a world record. The story of the Key Brothers is documented in a rare MDAH film collection, of which we show short clips below. Special thanks to Preston Everett, Image and Sound section, for writing this post and Cecilia Tisdale, audiovisual curator, and Derrick Cole, webmaster, for formatting the video.

***Due to the way this video is hosted, email and feedreader subscribers will be unable to view it within their email/internet feed. Please click through to the actual Sense of Place website to view the video. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.***

Description: Al and Fred Key with their wives and Al’s daughter. The Keys inspect cat walk on front of plane. Al and Fred shown with parents Dr. Elmore and Mary Key. Key Field hangar in background.

In 1929 Meridian brothers Al and Fred Key were hired to manage the new Meridian Municipal Airport that opened in November of 1930. The Key brothers managed the daily operations, a flight school, and airmail schedule. The onset of the Great Depression nearly shut down all aviation operations for the Keys and the Meridian Municipal Airport. On the verge of shutting down, the brothers had a unique idea that would promote aviation as well as their struggling air field—they would attempt to break the flight endurance record of twenty-three days.

Before they could take off on their record breaking flight, they had several obstacles to overcome, the two biggest being air-to-air refueling and maintenance of the plane’s engine. The solution for refueling presented itself in the form of an automatic shut off valve invented by Meridian resident A.D. Hunter. The valve prevented fuel from spraying on the engine once the nozzle disengaged from the air craft’s fuel tank. The second problem was solved by Dave Stephenson who welded a metal “catwalk” linking the plane’s cockpit to its engine. This allowed the Key brothers to keep the engine properly oiled and lubed without having to land the plane.

Description:“Ole Miss” taking off from the Meridian Municipal Airport on June 4, 1935. One of the Key brothers shown during air refueling. James Keeton and Bill Ward (not shown) operated the refueling plane which made 484 mid-air contacts. Notice the black fuel line on the right side of the frame.

The Key Brothers took off in the “Ole Miss” on June 4, 1935 and stayed in the air for twenty-seven consecutive days, breaking the previous record by several days. Their wives and families stayed at the air field during the flight and cooked their meals, which were taken up to the brothers in the refueling plane. When they landed on July 1, 1935, the national press and enormous crowds were there to greet them. They became local heroes. The Meridian Municipal Airport was later renamed Key Field in their honor.

Description:“Ole Miss” lands on Key Field July 1, 1935. Estimates showed the plane flew 52,320 miles a distance that would have circled the earth twice—the record has never been broken by an airplane.

Description:After landing, Fred Key standing up in plane holding his son while his wife sits next to him. Fred Key is carried away. Fred and Al Key speak in hangar about the flight.

During World War II, Key Field was used as a training field for pursuit and bombardment groups. Both Fred and Al volunteered and flew missions in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. The Key brothers were recognized by the Smithsonian Institution in 1955 when their plane, “Ole Miss,” was placed in the National Air and Space Museum.

Today Key Field in Meridian is a base for the Mississippi Air National Guard. The field from which the Key Brothers took off for their twenty-seven day flight is also the headquarters of the Mississippi Air National Guard 186th Air Refueling Wing. This wing is dedicated to refueling aircraft during flight, a duty made possible by a group of aviators in Meridian over seventy-six years ago.

The entire Key Brothers Film Collection, 1933-1935 (MP/1978.02) may be viewed in the library at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson.

[…] continue to bring you short clips from the film collections of MDAH (see also the Key Brothers aviation film footage). Special thanks to Derrick Cole, webmaster, and Celia Tisdale, audiovisual curator, for their […]

My father, William A. Crawford, is listed on my birth certificate as Chief Pilot for Key Brothers Flying Service, Meridian MS. Date, July 1948. My father passed in 1963 and I can find no history but have been looking.

Mr. Crawford,
There are two sources you may want to check: the book “The Flying Key Brothers and their Flight to Remember” by Stephen Owen and the MDAH subject file on the Key Brothers, which may have newspaper clippings about their flying service. Both are available in our reading room.
Amanda Lyons

Robert,
I am the grandson of William H Ward Jr the owner of the “Ole Miss”. My dad, his son still lives in Gulfport, Miss and knows just about all the history on this event. What kind of history are you looking for? I have a book that has every original newspaper article that was written about the event. My grandmother saved them all.

Thank you for the reply. My father, William Ashbrook Crawford, is listed on my birth certificate as Chief Pilot for your granddads company in 1948. I am the youngest of 5 children and was 14 when my dad passed. As the last surviving family member I have been trying to document my fathers history. I know he was a Lt. Commander in the US Naval Air, he flew commercially with Southern Airways and also the reference on my birth certificate. I am having trouble finding documents outlining his status from these era’s. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

I live in Gulfport, MS and am involved in the newly formed Mississippi Aviation Heritage Museum to be located in a 55,000 sq. ft. building in Gulfport. I would love to speak with you with regards to including a space in the museum for the Key Brothers Please contact me at your earliest convenience

I was born in 1938 and my mother said that she took a flight in the “Old Miss” several after the record flight – probably around +/-1938. She was not one to make up stories and my question is, was the plane used to provide flights to folks after the record flight? Probably the plane was used to provide rides to paying “customers? Any information or links to this question? Thanks! (hmcgowen@comcast.net)

Hillery,
Pilots often gave rides to paying customers in that era, so the story could be true. The MDAH subject file on the Key Brothers would be a good source to check for newspaper articles related to the Ole Miss. The plane remained in the Key family until the brothers gave it to the Smithsonian in 1955.
Amanda Lyons

Blog Policy

Welcome! Access to featured items is available at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson unless otherwise specified. Research requests posted in the comments section are not routed to the library. Please contact the Reference Desk with your request at 601-576-6876 or refdesk@mdah.state.ms.us.